III Celebration of African Heritage emphasized relations between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa with the intent of healing cultural dislocation. How can culture act as a catalyst for social change? What strategies can be implemented in support of local initiatives? How can we amplify cultural ideas and invigorate circulation of products between Latin America and Africa? The Celebration of African Heritage panel conferees addressed these questions and others with the objective of creating economic opportunity for the Diaspora in the Americas.

The Celebration showcased the diversity and beauty of African tradition in the performing arts. Local and international artists, notably, Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde), “the barefoot diva,” and Susana Baca (Peru), performed with Salvador's own Vírgina Rodrigues and Margareth Menezes. The streets of the Pelourinho Historical District provided the backdrop for unique talents as well as parades with Ilê Aiyê, Malê de Balê, and over 25 other Afro-Brazilian blocos and afoxés from around the city.

AFF in Brazil: Festival de Cinema Pan-Africano

African Film Festival, Inc. and Casa Via Magia co-produced the festival of six feature-length films, a collection which poignantly renders the historical and cultural binding of Portugal to Africa and Africa to Brazil.

Udju azul di Yonta
Flora Gomes (Guinea-Bissau, 1992)

Comédia Infantil
Solveig Nordlund (Sweden/Mozambique, 1997)

O Clandestino
Jose Laplaine (Zaire/Angola, 1997)

Ilhéu de Contenda
Leão Lopes (Cape Verde, 1995)

Anil
Fernando Beléns (Brazil, 1990)

Rota de Colisão
Roberval Duarte (Brazil, 1996)

Cidade de Mulheres
Giovani Almeida and Lázaro Faria (Brazil, 1999)

Screenings were anchored by a multi-tiered Media Symposium on practical management in the film and video industries. The film programming inspired topics such as production, marketing, international distribution, and the urgency and objectives of black representation in the media. A forum for dialogue between film professionals and enthusiasts was encouraged in a variety settings.

Workshop
Award-winning director of photography (DP) Robert Shepard discussed lighting technique — how to control contrast in film, how to use Digital wide-screen video to achieve the look of film stock. The workshop was open to professionals and students of film and video.

Young Adult Education Program
“Video in the Schools,” was co-coordinated by Jorge Batista do Espírito Santo, Luiz Orlando da Silva, Adriana Telles Ribeiro. Students from public high schools in Salvador met with the film directors following screenings of Cidades de Mulheres and Comédia Infantil.

Discussion
“Production and Distribution of African, Afro-Brazilian, and Afro-American Cinema and Media”
Panelists: Aida Opoku-Mensah, Program Officer in Media, Arts and Culture of the Ford Foundation, Nigeria; Pola Ribeiro, producer/director, Brazil; Aquiles Monaco, film exhibitor, Brazil; Mahen Bonetti, Executive Director, AFF; Moizés Augusto Coelho, producer, Brazil. This round-table discussion followed the screenings of O Clandestino and Udju azul di Yonta.

“Cultural Affirmation and Representation Through Cinema and Media.”
Panelists: Thomas Harris, director, USA; José Araripe, director, Brazil; Chico Liberato, director/artist, Brazil Robert Shepard, DP, USA; Fernando Beléns, director, Brazil. Following the screenings of Rota de Colisão and Ilhéu de Contenda, the panelists and audience addressed the role of cinema in the creation of cultural paradigms — how the mirror of colonial, or dominant culture, represents Africa and the Diaspora.

Background

I Celebration of African Heritage burst into the international scene in 1997. The place was Salvador's Historic District. The event was both festival and referendum. It attracted artists such as the Rennie Harris Pure Movement Company (USA), Tambo Bo Kanal (Martinque), Kituxix and Cafala (Angola), Xiomara Fortuna (Dominican Republic), Ilê Aiyê, Banda Didá, and Gilberto Gil (Brazil). Conference articipants reflected on issues involving new cultural politics arising from the partnership between organizations. One highlight of the festival was an encounter which brought together 100 percussionists in a public square under the coordination of maestros Neguinho do Samba and Carlinhos Brown.

In 1998, the II Celebration in Salvador rallied around “Tradition and Community.” Social development, always the heart of the event, had evolved into a quorum of national and international representatives sharing cultural and political perspectives. Fairs and craft exhibits in the streets and squares of the colonial city as well as in various theaters. One highlight of the festival was a youth performance by dance troupes from participating countries. Among them, Batotu Yeto (Angola/USA), Grupo Corpo (Minas Gerais) Ilê Aiyê, Malê de Balê, and Projeto Axé (Salvador, Brazil); and the Caminhada Axé, a parade of Bahian folk musicians which attracted over 800,000.

The II Celebration was also organized in Rio de Janeiro. The festival drew performance artists and activists for a international conference hosted by the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro. The conference was central to the festival, and participants debated "African Presence in Contemporary Art.”

Instituto Cultural Casa Via Magia
is the principle organizer and producer of the Celebration of African Heritage. Casa Via Magia was founded upon the principles of human interaction, cooperation, and solidarity. Its mission is to enhance cultural cooperation and community development by promoting education, health, and culture.

Casa Via Magia, established in in 1984, is a non-profit arts organization that epitomizes grassroot initiative and coordination. It has established deep roots in the local community through the emmensely popular annual productions of the the Celebration and the Via Bahia Festival and its educational cooperative. The institute administrates a curriculum of Capoeira, acting, contemporary dance, and music for children and a research and training center for educators and professionals in the arts. Casa Via Magia’s award-winning theater troupe has staged over 20 performances and actively participates in national and international festivals. The research goals and methods of the institute, which dynamically combine implemenation of new educational materials and ideas, are well documented. In addition, Casa Via Magia coordinates numerous topical seminars, conferences, television programs, and workshops.

Notes

Ilê aiyê means “black nation” in Yoruba. The musical group was the first Afro bloco (barrio) percussion group in Bahia. It's mission was and still is to recognize, preserve, and promote Afro-Brazilian culture. In their 26 years of Carnaval, the group theme has always paid homage to African countries and black Brazilian revolt. For Carnaval 2000, Ilê will bring to life the “Land of the Quilombo” (maroon or run-awasy slave society).

The musical group Malês takes its name from a historical community of black Muslims in Bahia who revolted against slavery. The rhythm and dance ensembles reflect strong ties to African tradition mixed with a “down home” performance style.

The mestizo style of Peruvian music lives in the religious processions and celebrations of Afro-Peruvians. It dates to the 15th century and has lyrical roots in the religions, languages, and lore of African cultures. The variety of rhythms, as collected by Susana Baca, are distinctive yet fluid: the animated festejo, the zamba, ingá, alcatraz, and "cantorial" lando.

The morna, exemplified by Cesaria Evora’s lilting Creole-Portuguese, is the “blues” of Cape Verde — a soulful folk music which combines West African percussion rhythms with Portuguese fados, Brazilian modinhas, and British sea shanties, accompanied by guitar, cavaquinho, violin, accordian, and clarinet.

Salvador, the capital of Bahia, is celebrated as home to the largest population of African descendants and the center of African culture in the Americas. It was once a gateway of the African slave trade to Brazil. From 1530, Portuguese colonists depended on the strength of slaves to clear and cultivate their vast territory. The arrival of Africans from various regions of the continent assured the diversity that flourishes in Salvador today on many levels. First, by sheer number. Then by virtue of the persistence of custom and resistance of the enslaved. In the five centuries since, the culture of the city has become a vibrant meld of references to indigenous peoples, colonoizers, and immigrants. Eliana Damêt, president of EMTURSA can’t help but acknowledge “the potential of culture as a tourism product has brought economic benefits resulting in new jobs, higher profits, and greater foreign exhange.”